Station Science Top News: June 9, 2023
Recent measurements show that daily electron and proton cosmic ray flows have distinct differences in duration and strength. Cosmic ray data help scientists better understand these phenomena and could contribute to protecting astronauts on future long-term missions.
AMS-02 has continuously collected cosmic ray information for 11 years. Cosmic rays are dominated by positively charged particles such as protons, while negatively charged cosmic electrons are rare. The observations reported in the paper indicate that nonrecurrent, short-term variations in cosmic ray flow are charge-sign dependent. High-energy radiation coming from distant stars presents a risk to crew members traveling to Mars.
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Researchers report that two proteins with a role in cell metabolism and survival are enriched in certain neural cells in space. This finding could be key to mitigating the intracranial hypertension and visual impairment intracranial pressure that some astronauts experience during and after space missions.
STaARSs Bioscience-4 examines how microgravity affects the rate at which oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) proliferate and differentiate. OPCs are precursors to a type of central nervous system cell. This study also could contribute to treatments for developmental or neurodegenerative disorders.
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Researchers found that a high-quality crystal of glucose isomerase had the same growth rate in space and on the ground. This result suggests that, contrary to expectations, the influence of convection flow on the growth rates of protein crystals is small or nonexistent.
Suppression of convection flows and of impurities in crystals were thought to be the main reasons that protein crystal quality improves in microgravity, but the precise mechanisms have not yet been discovered. Advanced Nano Step makes it possible to directly observe crystal growth and learn more about crystal structure and growth rate. Glucose isomerase is an important enzyme in the food industry and better processes for purifying it could improve the production of some foods.
